Trans Floridians Could Now Face Fraud Charges for Living Authentically 

Transgender people living in Florida may no longer be able to change the gender marker on their driver’s licenses. The policy change could impact both in-state residents and those from out-of-state, as the ACLU worries it could also lead to more harassment of trans visitors to the state.

In a change not prompted by a new law, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles quietly announced in an internal memo to tax collectors that state residents can no longer update the gender marker on their driver’s license to their correct gender identity, according to a screenshot posted by Alejandra Caraballo on X, formerly Twitter.

In the memo dated January 26, 2024, Robert Kynoch, the deputy executive director of the FLHSMV, stated that “establishing gender on a newly issued Florida Driver License” must be “based on the supporting documents provided with an application.” The documents “must be sufficient to establish the identity of the applicant” under Florida law, the memo continues. “Furthermore, misrepresenting one’s gender, understood as sex, on a driver license constitutes fraud under s. 322,212, F.S., and subjects an offender to criminal and civil penalties, including cancellation, suspension, or revocation of his or her driver license.”

According to FLHSMV, the new policy “pertains solely to replacement license requests.” Currently, the department can only issue a replacement license “when a license or permit is lost or stolen, or when there is a subsequent change in the licensee’s name, address or restrictions.” While it’s unclear what the impact will be on newly issued IDs and on transgender Floridians who already have accurate identification, the FLHSMV policy change will still have a significant impact on trans adults across the state, as people typically update their documentation at some point during their medical and social transition.

The agency’s new rules are tied to Dave Kerner’s appointment as executive director last January by Republican Governor and failed presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. When he was appointed, Kerner directed the agency to use its “inherent authority” to make policy changes following state law. That authority does not include issuing replacement licenses that match “one’s internal sense of gender or sex identification,” which the agency argues violates Florida state code.

Previously, Florida residents could update their name and gender on their state-issued ID by either submitting a court order or an official physician’s letter “stating that the applicant is undergoing appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition,” according to the National Center for Transgender Equality.

But now, according to the new agency memo, “misrepresenting one’s gender, understood as sex, on a driver’s license constitutes fraud” and exposes someone to criminal and civil penalties, including the cancellation, suspension, or revocation of their license. While the agency cannot amend existing state law (and reminder: no new law was passed), it’s within the power of the FLHSMV to refuse to issue an ID if an applicant has committed fraud—and as the memo clearly states, now, “misrepresenting one’s gender” might count as fraud.

“This could mean that all Florida licenses are mandated to display an individual’s ‘biological sex’ and people with existing identification may have to update them to inaccurately reflect their identity,” Arli Christian, a senior policy counsel for the ACLU, told The 19th. “It is quite likely that officials may use this policy to harass any person whose license has a sex designation they disagree with, including visitors from out of state.”

The FLHSMV went forward with the rule change even as Florida lawmakers were still debating whether to pass similar legislation, which proved to be a signal of things to come. On Thursday, February 1, HB 1639, which requires “certain applications and licenses to indicate person’s sex, rather than gender,” cleared its second of three House committees on a 12-6 party-line vote. If the law passes, the measure would require driver’s licenses to display a person’s sex assigned at birth rather than gender identity.

The only other state to pass a similar law is Kansas. But once Florida lays the foundation, more states will follow—and not just GOP-led states, either. In reality, anti-trans legislation is being passed with the help of the nation’s Democrats; look at New Hampshire. 

These types of rules put trans people at greater risk of violence, discrimination, and harassment in everyday interactions, according to the Center for American Progress. Without accurate identification, trans people are placed at greater risk for violence, discrimination, and harassment in everyday interactions, like while showing an ID at the bar or grocery store or while traveling. “This is especially true if someone’s perceived gender expression does not match the gender marker on their driver’s license,” noted The 19th. “This can out many trans people against their will.”

The reality is that forcing a trans person to live as the gender they were assigned at birth is far more “fraudulent” than for them to live as their actual, authentic gender.

(featured image: AlxeyPnferov/Getty Images)